KARL DARLOW admits the next four days will be a test of Newcastle United’s character, but the goalkeeper expects the Magpies to come through it with a place in the League Cup semi-final and an improved advantage at the top of the Championship table.

Newcastle lost for the first time since mid-September as they went down to Blackburn Rovers at the weekend, but there is no time to stew on the defeat as they return to action tomorrow with an EFL Cup quarter-final at Hull City.

Three days later, the league action resumes as they head to Darlow’s former club, Nottingham Forest, for a game that could see them re-establish their five-point lead over Brighton before the Seagulls travel to Cardiff City the following day.

The Magpies haven’t had to respond to too many setbacks this season, but having followed September’s defeat to Wolves with an 11-game unbeaten run in all competitions, Darlow is hoping for a similarly emphatic response this time around.

“We haven’t had to bounce back too often this season, but we have to prove we can do that now,” said the shot-stopper. “The run has put us in a great position in the league – we’re top and we’ve still got a gap.

“To lose this game, particularly at home, was very disappointing, but now we need to make sure we stay at the top of the league and carry on putting in good performances. If we do that, we can pick up and really get going again.

“You’re going to lose some time, but it’s still very disappointing when it happens. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t play as well as we can, and we definitely had a bit of an off day.

“We’ve had some good victories recently and put a good run together, so it’s disappointing not to keep that going. Hopefully, we can go on another good run now though.”

Rafael Benitez made six changes for Saturday’s game, and the Magpies looked disjointed throughout the first half as they struggled to string together a telling passing move.

Things improved marginally in the second half, but Darlow claims that squad rotation is both inevitable and necessary when you are playing three games in the space of six days.

“It’s hard to keep playing the same players when you’ve got so many games in a short space of time,” he said. “But that’s obviously up to the manager. He’s the one that picks the team, and we know we’ve got great quality in the squad and a great strength in depth.

“Whoever is out on the pitch, we have full confidence that we can put on a good performance and win football matches. In terms of personnel, it doesn’t really matter too much, and we know against Hull we’re going to be strong no matter what team is named.”

Tomorrow’s game at the KCOM Stadium offers Newcastle an opportunity to make the semi-finals of a cup competition for the first time since they lost in the last four of the FA Cup in 2005.

They have only reached the semi-finals of the League Cup once in their entire history – when they went on to play in the final in 1976 – and the visit to Humberside represents an ideal opportunity to draw a line under Saturday’s disappointment.

“It’s good to have the cup game so close,” said Darlow. “We’ve got three games this week, so we know we’ve got to brush this off pretty quickly and get on with things.

“Getting this far in the cup means we’re going to be kept busy, and that’s fantastic for the club. We need to concentrate on that now and try to get through to the next round, then it’s Forest on Friday. It’s a big week coming up, and we need to put this behind us and get on with it now.”